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Delaware tornado delivered peak wind at 95 mph, damage in its 1-mile path. How big was it?

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Delaware tornado delivered peak wind at 95 mph, damage in its 1-mile path. How big was it?


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It touched down just after 7 p.m. The whole of New Castle County, and Delaware, already braced for continued remnants of then-Tropical Storm Debby barreling up the East Coast on Thursday.

The EF1 tornado knotted into shape over Marshallton, atwist with peak winds estimated at 95 mph, according to the preliminary report released Saturday morning by the National Weather Service. After initially hitting just south of Acme, the cyclone dragged a path of damage northward for another 1.13 miles – breaking windows, downing fences and dropping trees in its wake.

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The wind funnel reached a max width of about 150 yards on its trek, according to the weather service. No injuries were reported, and preliminary reports aided by spotters noted debris “lofted into the air.” Damage to buildings and homes was reported.

Its ultimate EF1 rating corresponds to “moderate” impact, per forecasters, whereas a maximum EF5 would have meant “incredible” damage for communities, or winds over 260 mph.

Thursday’s tornado was the first to touch down on state soil this year.

But Delaware has been no stranger to such whirlwinds. Most have been rated EF0 or EF1. 

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Hear from residents: They were in cars, homes and Acme. Residents describe Thursday tornado in Delaware

21-mile path? Looking back at tornadoes in Delaware

The First State has faced about 78 tornadoes since 1950, according to a Delaware Online/The News Journal database aggregating reporting data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Just two of those twisters have led to direct fatalities, per the database. A 78-year-old man was killed last year in his Greenwood home in Sussex County, and two people were killed near Hartly in Kent County in 1983. Property damage totals nearly $13.4 million across the state as of April. That figure does not include damages incurred in the past five years.

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The year 2020 stands out with six tornadoes, tied with 1992 for the most in one year. All those formations came in the same four-day span that August.

That was when Tropical Storm Isaias brought high winds, heavy rain, several tornadoes and coastal flooding to the entire Mid-Atlantic – becoming the most impactful tropical cyclone to hit the region since Sandy in 2012, per the database.

One EF2 tornado alone, delivering “significant” damage, posted a path nearly 21 miles in length. It reached 500 feet at its max width, with peak winds at 115 mph.

That cyclone tore through New Castle County after 8 a.m., continuing nearly parallel to Routes 1 and 13 on the east sides of Townsend and Middletown. Trees were snapped. Roofs were damaged. Several garage doors were blown out; another garage was destroyed on Blackbird Landing Road. Homes in Middletown sustained damage, with ripped-out walls or tree impact.

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A history of twisters: Tornadoes in Delaware since 1950

A stronger tornado came just last year.

It touched down in the evening near Bridgeville, on April 1, 2023, before killing the 78-year-old Greenwood man. The twister delivered severe damage on its 14-mile path, barreling with peak winds clocked at 98-mph wind gusts about 10 feet off the ground. Utility poles were snapped, siding and roofs ripped away, parked semi-trailers blown over a driveway, among much more damage reported in Sussex County.



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Delaware

Delaware state police trooper killed in active shooter incident at DMV facility; suspect also dead

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Delaware state police trooper killed in active shooter incident at DMV facility; suspect also dead


This story originally appeared on 6abc.

Delaware state police say a trooper was killed in what officials said was an active shooter situation at a DMV facility in New Castle on Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect in this incident is also dead, Gov. Matt Meyer said.

State police said they are “are continuing to assess additional injuries.” There is no official word yet on the exact number of people injured.

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Police say the active shooter incident is now over.

The incident happened around 2 p.m. at the facility on Hessler Boulevard.

No further details have been made available.

Police are asking residents to avoid the area.

Stay with Action News and 6abc.com as this story develops.

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2 hurt after car crashes into building in Talleyville, Delaware

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2 hurt after car crashes into building in Talleyville, Delaware


Two people were hurt after a car crashed into a building in Talleyville, Delaware, Monday morning.

The incident occurred shortly before 11 a.m. along the 100 block of Brandywine Boulevard. Police said a woman was driving a light-colored vehicle when she somehow lost control and crashed through the first floor of a realty company.

A fire station is located across the street from where the crash occurred. Firefighters responded in less than a minute and the driver as well as another person were both taken to the hospital. Investigators told NBC10 both victims suffered minor injuries and are expected to be OK.

Crews removed the vehicle and boarded up the damaged building. They continue to investigate the cause of the crash.

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Delaware-based dark money group ‘Alabama Patients First’ unleashes TV, digital attack on Blue Cross Blue Shield 

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Delaware-based dark money group ‘Alabama Patients First’ unleashes TV, digital attack on Blue Cross Blue Shield 


A brand-new, out-of-state dark-money group launched an attack on Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama over the past week, and has already invested over $320,000 in negative television advertising alone. 

During some of this weekend’s largest SEC football matchups, including Alabama vs. Oklahoma, the group ran a shock-style message that is now being pushed to Alabama voters more aggressively than any political campaign could afford to spend on television at this point in the 2026 election cycle. 

According to business filings, “Alabama Patients First LLC” was formed in Delaware on December 11. The state is known for its Teflon business privacy laws. LLCs are not required to publicly list their ownership or members, making it an ideal vehicle for dark money to reach its target. 

Since its formation, the group has been busy in Alabama.

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Using a “Paid for by Alabama Patients First” disclaimer, the group aired television advertisements, launched a website, and directed SMS marketing campaigns directly to voters, igniting a costly media attack against the state’s leading insurer. 

“They make a killing off telling you ‘No.’ Blue Cross Blue Shield: ‘No.’ That’s Blue Cross “B*******,” the ad says.

A station-by-station breakdown of the Alabama Patients First TV buy across multiple Montgomery-area outlets, including WSFA, WAKA, WCOV-TV, WNCF, and others, totals $226,071. 

The group also spent $102,000 across Birmingham, Huntsville, and Dothan media markets.

The buy spans six weekends, ranging from its first airing on December 14, with a much smaller spend scheduled after January 1, to a wind-down on January 18, 2026. 

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By comparison, in the Montgomery media market, the group spent $211,633 in December and just $14,438 in January.

In total, the out-of-state group has spent at least $328,071 on pushing the TV spot to Alabama residents. 

Alabama Patients First’s TV spend isn’t the whole tab, either. The professional fees required to deploy such an operation likely reach into the millions – and the timing is striking.

The attack on Alabama began the same week that Jackson Hospital and Clinic, Inc. initiated a high-visibility litigation campaign against BCBS of Alabama. 

Jackson Hospital and its lender, Atlanta-based Jackson Investment Group, are on the clock for a December 31, 2025 bankruptcy court deadline to secure $100 million in public funding, which would help satisfy a debtor-in-possession (DIP) agreement the two signed earlier this year. 

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Yellowhammer News requested information from officials at Jackson Investment Group, Jackson Healthcare, and Jackson Hospital to confirm or deny a connection between the hospital’s lending relationship and the creation of Alabama Patients First. 

At the time of publication, those requests went unanswered.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama did respond to the negative ad blitz in a statement on Monday afternoon.

“The ads are an intentional misrepresentation of how we do business,” Sophie Martin, Director of Corporate Communications for BCBS of Alabama, said.

“Based on the timing of the ads, we believe they are nothing more than an improper attempt by Jackson’s investor-lender to improperly influence litigation.”

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.

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